


She Walks in Beauty

by Jiffers



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-19 13:44:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9443768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jiffers/pseuds/Jiffers
Summary: A brief drabble on what goes on in that curly haired ex-templar's head.  With posthumous credit to the extremely talented Lord Byron.





	

It was the damned desk's fault, Cullen decided angrily. His reasoning for bringing something so small out to Skyhold's courtyard to hold an endless pile of maps and field reports escaped him at that moment. He kicked the leg in frustration and then smothered a curse at the sharp pain in his toe. He knew he should have stayed inside his office, but no - Leliana had insisted the sun might do him some good so out he came with a dinner tray sized table to deal with the never ending demands of getting the fledgling Inquisition off the ground. Cullen muttered a curse in the spymaster's general direction, but quietly since he wasn't quite sure the extent of her agents. The last thing he needed was to anger the petite Orleasian. With a sigh, he attempted to organize the pile of papers in danger of toppling to the ground. Unfortunately, it was a losing battle. The ex-Templar jumped out of the way as an avalanche of reports slid sideways as the right legs of the desk gave way.

He stared in shock at the mess that rested around him, and then closed his eyes in frustration. With a low growl he pinched the bridge of his nose and mentally counted to twenty.

A rustle of movement behind him interrupted his mental pity party and he spun around to confront Charter as she tried to sneak quietly away. He pinned the elven spy in place with a glare and gestured at the escaping papers with quick arc of his hand. “Since this is your mistress’ doing, I suggest you help rectify the mess.”

Her eyes grew wide beneath her green hood and she immediately dropped to her knees collecting the scattered remnants of a field report. Cullen knelt beside her with a sigh. “I’m sorry. That was untoward of me.”

“If I may be so bold, Commander.  You seem a little on edge today.”   Leliana walked up and with a tilt of her head, gestured for Charter to leave.  The slight elf lept to her feet and placing her right hand over her heart vanished into the bustling courtyard.  She started to lean against the table, but quickly changed her mind when it shifted unsteadily underneath her.  “I see you have taken my advice to come outside, no?  However, I don’t believe I advised that you relocate your office out here.  It is ok for you to take a break from your duties, Cullen.” 

His fur covered shoulders slumped as Cullen regarded the stacks of papers littering the area around him.  Rising to his feet, the tall Commander rubbed the back of his neck in exasperation and scowled at the tenuously tilting desk.  “I cannot even consider doing so,” he ground out as he crossed his arms.  “There is way too much work to be done.”

The Spymaster copied his posture and tapped a finger on her chin.  “I disagree, Cullen.  We are not so buried in work that you cannot step away for an hour or so.    Go find a place to be alone in.  I promise you that the Inquisition will not fall down around our ears while you are gone.  I will find someone to help me gather these and replace them on your desk.” 

She turned her back to signal one of her ever present agents and Cullen grabbed a worn copy of a field report off the top.  Tucking it into his coat, he hastily made his way towards the stairs to the ramparts.  Her soft Orleasean lift stopped him as she cautioned, “That does not mean you can go back to hiding out in your office, Commander.”

He sighed and swung left towards the corner tower overlooking the stables.  He did enjoy the view of the Frostback Mountains and was pretty sure the crumbling top floor would be deserted.  Cullen’s lip curled around the distinctive scar as he considered his pilfered papers.  While not much, those would at least give him something to do for an hour.

As he had hoped, the tower offered him some much needed seclusion.  He leaned against the stone barrier, resting his arms on the parapet.   The snow covered vista before him seemed to calm the tumultuous thoughts running through his mind.  Cullen closed his eyes and took a couple deep breaths of the pine scented air.  He turned his face towards the sun overhead and blew out slowly, counting to twenty.  Once he felt more centered, the ex-Templar pulled the papers from his coat and smoothed them down on the rock surface.  With a quick guilty look over his shoulder, he started to read through the handwritten report.  Several minutes elapsed before he realized he had been doing less reading and more staring at the scrawled words in front of him.  Pressing his fingers to his temples, Cullen puffed out air through pursed lips.  He wondered if it was safe to sneak back into his office yet, but a quick peek towards his own tower showed several of Leliana’s agents loitering around the door.  He snorted and raised both arms overhead to stretch out his back.  “So she really means to keep me away,” he chuckled to himself.  “I guess this was easier than barring the door on me.” 

A quick motion on the mountain side caught his eye and Cullen walked to the northern side of the tower.  A small group of rams were moving through the sparse pine trees covering the ridge.  He watched them for a while as they foraged for elfroot amongst the snow drifts, a small smile pulling at the edge of his mouth.  A slight breeze danced along the tower edge and he turned back to the papers resting on the stone ledge just in time to see them sail over the edge and onto the walkway below.  With a strangled curse, he bolted for the ladder and dropped onto the second floor. 

The wooden door scraped along the flagstone floor as he pushed it open.  It caught on something on the other side and no matter how hard he pushed, Cullen couldn’t get it to open any wider.  He eyed the opening with ire, noting that there wasn’t any way he’d fit with his armor on.  The pages of the report seemed to mock him as they fluttered just out of reach.  Resigned, he thumped his forehead softly against the door several times before turning and starting to remove the thick fur overcoat from his shoulders. 

Looking around the abandoned second floor of the tower, he found a crate that had somehow managed to stay in one piece over the years.  Cullen blew a thick layer of dust off the top and then lay the overcoat down.  The dancing motes of dirt swirled in the air and he sneezed violently before waving away the bits.  “Damn desk,” he muttered as he reached around and unbuckled the leather bindings that secured his chest plate.  “All I wanted was to read my reports in peace.  Not mess around in Maker damned turmoil.”  The heavy metal piece joined the fur on the crate and he rolled his shoulders back noting how light he felt without the protective covering.  “But now I’m stripping – STRIPPING – down to my unmentionables in some dusty corner of an ancient keep to chase errant pages of Andraste knows what.”  His iron greaves followed and soon he stood there in just his cotton tunic and pants. 

Cullen froze for a moment as the irony of the situation hit him.  He glanced down at the flowing garments before giving an experimental stretch.  He had to admit he felt freer without all the trappings of command that he donned on a daily basis.  Absently scratching an itch on his chest, he smiled before remembering the reason for his disrobing.  Quietly chuckling, he proceeded to slip through the opening to the walkway.  “Well maybe I’ll just have to consider this an adventure.”

The battlement on the other side was still radiating warmth from the long morning of full sunlight.  It felt like the flagstone was alive beneath his bare feet and he peered over the edge.  The courtyard below was filled with everyday motion, but no one was looking back up at him.  Cullen grinned and remarked to himself, “I almost feel like a kid again.  Perhaps Leliana was right after all.  There is something to be said for putting everything aside for a moment.”  The breeze tickled warm fingers through his blonde hair and he shut his eyes in enjoyment.  His ears perked at the sound of an errant paper scuffing and with a sigh he remembered his purpose for being there.

Turning, Cullen picked up each piece of the report, counting as he did so.  “Five, six…  I swear there were seven sheets,” he muttered.  He looked through them and noted that the last page was missing.  The walkway near him was empty, but the side furthest from the tower crumbled down into a ruin as if it had been hit by some giant sword at some point in the past.  He approached the edge and found the misplaced paper flickering on the other side of the break.  It looked stable enough so he gingerly picked his way down the stones, wincing at the rough spots beneath his feet.  Luckily, the rubble formed a makeshift staircase and he climbed back up with ease.  Snatching the page, he turned and looked over the courtyard again to see if he had drawn any attention.  “Well,” he announced striking a pose with hands on hips, “I guess I could have been clambering around naked for all the notice you lot give me.”

“Now that would be a sight, indeed,” a sweet voice offered from behind him.  “But for now, I’ll just be happy with this one.”

Cullen whirled around, reflexively holding the papers over his groin.  He could feel a hot blush climb his cheeks and he frantically searched for the intruder.  Looking down, he found Willow sitting against the battlement wall – a bottle of water and a half eaten apple at her side.  A book lay open across her lap and he realized that he had inadvertently stumbled across her hiding spot. 

“Inquisitor!”  He hadn’t stuttered in years, but today he found his tongue tripping over every word.  “I didn’t know you were up here.”

“That’s kind of the idea, Commander,” she answered.  Her green eyes silently laughed at him.  “If I didn’t have a place to get away from the fuss from time to time, you all would have killed me by now.”  She gestured at the wall next to her.  “Join me?  At least down here they won’t be able to see you.  You keep my secret and I’ll keep yours." She raised a delicate red eyebrow at his state of undress.

Cullen shifted uneasily – torn between running away and the stolen opportunity to just be in her presence.   Sensing his indecisiveness, the auburn haired mage waved a second apple at him.  Choice made, he jumped off the slight edge and slid down the wall beside her.  “I swear on Andraste’s ashes that this is the first time I’ve ever done this.”  He took the apple from her and tossed it back and forth between his hands.

“Posed like a statue of some Tiventer hero on the battlements in your under clothing?”  She chortled and turned slightly to face him.

He smiled and nodded.  “All I wanted was to get some work done.  But apparently other forces at work decided otherwise.”  He gave her a sidelong glance and felt himself flushing again at the look on her face.  “I have dust on my nose, don’t I?”

Willow laughed.  “Yes,” she admitted.  “But it’s more than that.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile, Commander.  Smirk – yes.  Scowl – Maker yes.  Smile – no.”  She rested her chin in her hand as she eyed him closely.  “You should definitely smile more.”

Leaning back against the wall, he considered her words.  “I guess I’ve been so caught up in being so serious, I’ve forgotten how,” he mused quietly.  “I haven’t had a lot to smile about in recent years.  My sister would agree with you.  This is the most fun I’ve had in a while.”

“Then you need to remember what it’s like, Commander.”  She echoed his pose and reclined back, reaching for her neglected snack.

“Cullen,” he offered.  “You’ve seen me at my worst here.  Commander seems so formal after that.”

She giggled.  “I rather doubt this is your worst.  Alright, Cullen… but you must call me Willow in return.”

“I think I can deal with that.  It’s been a long time since I’ve felt like I can just relax.  What are you reading?”  She held up a slim book of poetry and he wrinkled his nose.  “I’ve never had much use for pleasure novels,” he admitted. 

Willow quirked an eyebrow at him.  “Reading keeps me sane.  In the tower, we had to study musty old tomes most of the day.  But the library at Ostwick Circle had an enormous collection of books of all kinds.  I was pretty shy so those volumes became my friends.  Josephine borrowed this one off a Fereldan nobleman.  Cassandra slipped me a couple of serial novels, but I haven’t had a chance to read those yet.”  She adjusted her position and curled her legs under her.  Cullen absently noted that she was wearing the same loose pants he was and quickly averted his eyes.  “What do you read for then?”

“I read field reports and a seemingly endless selection of orders and notes from our operatives.   Along with notices of complaint from our allies…”  His voice trailed off as he realized how boring that sounded. 

She studied him speculatively through wide green eyes before smirking slightly.  “Challenge then, Commander.”

“Cullen,” he reminded her with a suspicious nod.

The slight mage grinned widely and offered him the book.  “I’ll make you a deal.  Consider it an adventurous ultimatum if you will.”  When he didn’t take the offered novel, she chuckled and pushed it into his hand while claiming the crumpled report in turn.  “I will read one page of report and you pick out one poem.  We’ll exchange.”  She looked expectantly at him while nibbling on her bottom lip.  The ex-Templar stared at her and then down at the hide bound book in his hand.    “Please?” she begged gently.  “I want to see you smile again.  I like you, Cullen.  I’d like to get to know you better.  You’re always so intimidating, but here you’re softer.  Humor me?”

The last time someone had rendered Cullen so incredibly speechless was in the Fereldan Circle Tower when a young Surana had stolen a kiss as she left with the Grey Wardens.  He could feel his mouth trying to form words, but for the life of him none would come out.  In a panic, he watched Willow’s face fall.  “No!  Give me the book,” he finally sputtered.  He reclaimed the field report.  “You don’t have to read these.  They’re awfully dull.  Just open this to anywhere?”  Tucking the crumpled pages under his leg, he gestured towards the slim book.  She nodded and cocked her head which caused a slight flutter in his chest.   “I… uh… ok.”

Picking a page at random, he started reading.  After a couple of lines, his stutter evened out.  Willow closed her eyes and linked her arms around her knees as she listened to his warm voice reading the lines of the poem.

“She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.”

Cullen’s voice trailed off as he looked at the lithe figure next to him.  A slight smile curved the pale apple of her cheek and her dark lashes veiled a pale sprinkling of freckles.  He had certainly noticed her fragile beauty that belied the strong will in the prior months, but now he found himself in awe that someone of her nature wanted to spend time with him.  As he resumed reading the poem, he mentally thanked the desk that had started it all.


End file.
